Welcome to the September edition of The Peaceful Runner Newsletter - your free monthly resource for inspirational articles and quotes, healthy recipes and the latest news and trends in running.

In this issue:

1) Quote of the Month
2) Article: More Reasons to do the Meditation Move!
3) Strength Running can Help You Run Stronger and Faster
4) Food for Thought: Could Less Exercise be Better For Weight Loss?
5) Recipe of the month: Make your Own Sports Drink

More Reasons to do the Meditation Move

In a discussion on LinkedIn, a runner made the following comment which talks about rotating the arms and turning the palms up to relieve tension and improve posture during running. The comment was part of a discussion on tips that improved running.

"...when I was told to "get tall" to fix other form problems, I was growing tall from my shoulders rather than along the line from my sternum through my head, so my shoulders and upper back were getting tight. Whenever I felt that, I was told to rotate my arms so the palms were up and run that way for a minute or two (with or without fingers and thumb touching). That rotation of the arms forced my scapula down and I lost all that tension. "

Since July I have been practicing the meditation move while running, walking, standing and sitting. It definitely has helped to improve my running posture and my overall posture. I do have a tendency to slouch while sitting and this movement has brought awareness and improvement to my sitting posture.

Another benefit that I have noticed is improved circulation in my legs. For the past year or so, I have been experiencing a circulation problem in one of my legs in which I had swelling and felt numbness in my calf. Since I have been doing the meditation move, I am experiencing these symptoms much less to the point where I can almost say never. If you wear compression socks while running, you may want to start doing the meditation move.

There is a scientific reason why this movement is helping with improving my circulation. As mentioned in my previous newsletter, there are three meridians that begin to work more efficiently when the palms are turned up. The Heart, Pericardium and Lung meridians run along the arm from the chest to the palms. These meridians help with many of our critical bodily functions such as breathing, blood circulation, immune function, cardiac function, sleep, emotional balance, heat regulation, perspiration, body temperature and others. Turning up your palms and improving your posture allow these meridians to flow freely and perform their functions more easily.

Another benefit that the meditation move provides: stopping hiccups. I read the following comment on care2.com. I haven't tried this technique yet, but I will test it during my next battle with the hiccups.

"...sit with your palms up. I always stress that if you just put your palms on your thighs, it won't work. You have to have your palms facing up. You immediately feel the difference in your chest. I then have the person take a deep breath (not forcing, just opening the lungs as much as possible) not holding it, but letting it out in a normal breath, but making sure every molecule has a chance to exit. Again, not forcing the air out, just giving it the chance to leave the lungs. Then you take in and let out a normal breath. Usually the hiccups are gone, if not you only need to repeat once more. It has never failed...."

Have you tried practicing the meditation move? If you have, please tell me about your experience. Has it improved your running posture? Have you experienced any other health benefits? Please contact me here and I will include your comments in a future article (anonymously if you prefer).

Strength Running can Help you
Run Stronger and Faster

Check out the Jason Fitzgerald Interview to find out what Jason Fitzgerald and Strength Running can do to help you run stronger and faster and access some of the great free stuff he offers.

Food for Thought: Could Less Exercise be
Better For Weight Loss?

I think that there could be some truth to the concept that doing a lot of exercise will not actually help you lose more weight. Most runners when training for a marathon do not experience weight loss. It seems that our appetites increase so we tend to eat more food and often not including healthy choices. My successful weight loss experiences only occurred when I cut back on food intake and not when I exercised more. I also found it easier to eat less when I wasn't exercising as much, so maybe there is something to exercising moderately for weight loss...just food for thought!

Amby Burfoot summarizes all the recent studies that have been conducted in this area. Here is the link to his article: Exercise for Weight Loss: Is Less More?

Recipe of the month: Make your Own Sports Drink

• 16 ozs water
• 2 tbsps honey
• 1/8 tsp salt
• squeeze lemon or lime juice

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large glass and stir.
2. You can prepare your drink the night before and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Jackie

ThePeacefulRunner.com

facebook.com/thepeacefulrunner

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